Air Canada flight diversion to Boston was due to pilot ‘medical issue’

An Air Canada flight that left Newark, N.J., en route to Halifax was diverted to Boston Wednesday afternoon after the pilot experienced a “medical issue,” according to the airline.

The details were confirmed by an Air Canada spokesperson in a statement sent to Global News Thursday.

“Air Canada flight AC7664, a flight operated by its regional partner PAL Airlines, was enroute from Newark to Halifax on the afternoon of June 24,” said Air Canada.

“During the flight, the captain experienced a medical issue and was removed from the flight deck as per safety protocols,” said Air Canada.

An online flight tracker shows the plane departed from Newark at 12:55 p.m. eastern time on Wednesday and landed in Boston about an hour later, with altitude beginning to drop about 30 minutes after takeoff.

The flight from Newark to Halifax normally takes two hours and 15 minutes.

The airline also said that although flights are required to have more than one pilot on board, each pilot is trained to operate an aircraft without the assistance of a second pilot.

“The first officer took control of the aircraft and diverted the flight to Boston, where it landed safely,” the airline said.

Controllers in air traffic audio recordings from Logan International Airport were heard warning other pilots that runway 27 would be out of commission due to “an inbound emergency” at 1:35 p.m.

A spokeswoman for Boston Logan International Airport said in an email that the Air Canada plane landed without incident and “Massport Fire Rescue and Boston EMS responded to the crew as necessary.”

The aircraft, which was a De Havilland Q400, had 61 passengers on board, Air Canada said, and the captain who experienced the medical issue was also taken for treatment in Boston.

– with files from The Canadian Press